The Sozzani Foundation presents for the 26th year the World Press Photo 2021, one of the most prestigious world visual journalism awards. The competition, in its 64th edition, is open to professionals from all over the world who have photographed an event or developed a project of strong journalistic relevance. Since its founding in 1955, the World Press Photo Awards are a contribution to the history of the best international photojournalism and a journey through the events of 2020.

In this edition, 74,470 photographs from 4,315 photographers from 130 countries were examined and 45 photographers awarded in 8 different categories divided between "Photo of the year" and "History of the year" in News, General News, Spot News, Environment, Projects long-term, Nature, Sports and Portraits.

The two most important awards, the "World Press Photo Story of the Year" and the "World Press Photo of the Year" were won by: Mads Nissen who won the "Photo of the Year" with The First Embrace - the image of an old woman embraced for the first time after five months through a plastic tent during the Coronavirus pandemic - and the Italian Antonio Faccilongo who received the “History of the Year” award.

Among the winners, three Italians: Antonio Faccilongo (Rome, 1979) with Habibi "my love" in Arabic. It is the story of the resilience of the Palestinian people, told in photos that do not show the conflict but the difficulties that Palestinians face every day to ensure that their families continue to exist.Gabriele Galimberti (Val Di Chiana, 1977), who has won in the “Portrait - Stories” category with The Ameriguns project, a story that explores the phenomenon of firearms in the United States. Lorenzo Tugnoli (Lugo, 1979), awarded in the “Spot News - Stories” category, with the reportage Port Explosion in Beirut which tells of the devastating explosion that shook the Lebanese capital. To date, one of the greatest explosions that took place in the 21st century.